Driving mechanism



Sept. 14, 1937. J, FiNNEGAN 2,093,315

' DRIVING MECHANISM Original Filed Sept. 2'7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Patented Sept. 14, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRIVING MECHANISM Original application September 27, 1934, Serial Divided and this application September 14, 1936, Serial No. 100,741

3 Claims.

This invention relates to aircraft and particularly to aircraft of the type having freely rotativc sustaining wings normally driven in flight by the action of the relative wind. In such an aircraft the rotative wing system, as explained in the specification of the Rawson Patent No. 1,921,839, usually consists of a plurality of wings orblades attached to a central hub mounted for free rotation, the whole system of wings and hub being hereinafter referred to as a rotor. An aircraft of this type will also be provided with forward propelling means usually consisting of an engine and airscrew, the rotor being rotated in normal flight by aerodynamic forces alone. Before the aircraft can take flight it is necessary to impart to the rotor at certain degree of initial rotation.

In the Rawson patent above identified, mechanism is disclosed for disconnecting the drive between the engine and the rotor as a condition precedent to the take-01f of the craft, such mechanism being in the nature of a safety device connecting 'with the running wheels of the craft and adapted to defeat any attemptto take the machine 01f the ground with the drive from the engine to the rotor still engaged. The present invention is directed to the same ultimate objective although in a broader aspect, it is applicable to any driving mechanism, such as that of the Lansing Patent No. 1,962,397, granted June 12, 1934. It arrives at this same ultimate result by the employment of new and improved means differing radically from the means disclosed in the said Rawson patent, one of the principal differences being that the drive is rendered ineffective automatically when the rotating blades attain ,a speed of rotationgreater than the speed of the driving means, and thereafter the drive remains continuously disconnected regardless of any action or lack of. action on the part of the operator; and by virtue of the automatic operation of parts intimately associated with the rotor drive itself, in contra-distinction to the employment of extraneous means such as the running gear, or brakes therefonas in the Rawson patent.

The nature of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description referring to the accompanying drawings whichillustrate the preferred constructional embodiment, thereof in an aircraft having a freely rotatable sustaining rotor of the type referred to.

In the drawings:-

Figure .1 is a fragmentary side view of portions of an aircraft of the type above referred to having the mechanism of the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a side view of certain of the upper parts of the mechanism shown in Figure 1, the view being partly in elevation and partly in vertical section; a

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the electrical circuits and parts involved, showing said parts in their true relation to certain of the associated mechanical parts.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 are sectional views of the clutch restraining means in the initial intermediate and restraining positions respectively;

Referring first to- Figure 1, the outline ofthe aircraft is shown at 10 in dot and dash lines and the hub .of the rotative wing assembly or rotor is shown at 20, the said hub including a downwardly extended axis member 45 mounted and supported on suitable bearings, housed in a casing'lfl, which in turn is secured to and supported by the structural members, not shown, of the aircraft body as in the Rawson patent above identified. The rotating wings are partially indicated at 2!, the said wings being articulated with the hub 20 in the usual manner.

Also as in the Rawson patent, the means for imparting initial rotation to the rotor 20, before taking flight, comprises lower and upper transmission units, generally indicated at A and B, interconnected by an oblique shaft [6. The lower transmission unit A preferably includes a reduction gear taking power from the crankshaft or one of the auxiliary drive shafts of the engine l3 and a friction clutch l4. These components are'not shown in the drawings, but they are contained within a casing bolted to the engine part l3, as shown. The friction clutch is engageable and disengageable by means of a hand lever I5. 7 p

The upper transmission unit B, which is more particularly illustrated in Figure 2, is housed within the casing I9 and receives the drive from the lower transmission unit A by means of the oblique shaft l6, and a universal joint H.

In the present invention this upper transmission unit differs in construction from that of the corresponding unit of the Rawson disclosure in that it employs an automatically engaging and disengaging clutch of the inclined surface tooth type together with a pre-set torque limit clutch similar to that used in the engine starter of the .Lansing patent above identified, to which use the As shown, this clutch assembly includes i a set of friction disks 26 splined alternately to a driving shell 21 and an internally threaded sleeve 28, the said shell being rigidly connected as by the rivets 29, plate 3| and screws 32, to the cupshaped member 33 which receives the drive from the universal joint I1 in the manner clearly indicated in Figure 2. The sleeve 28 receives a correspondingly threaded shaft 34 which is splined at its forward end to engage corresponding splines in the rearwardly extending portion 31 of the clutch element 38, the said clutch element being adapted to move forward into engagement with the corresponding clutch' element 39 in response to the pressure which spring 40 yieldingly exerts thereupon in an axial direction as the shaft 34 is screwed forwardly in response to rotation of the driving members 33, 21, 26, and 28.

The clutch element 39 is shown as having an extending portion in the form of a pinion 4I adapted to mesh with a gear 42 which in turn is splined or otherwise suitably connected to a sleeve 43 constituting the driving means for the rotor 29. Suitable bearings 48 and 49 are mounted in recesses in the housing I 9 and rotatably support the combined gear and clutch element 39, 4|. Bearing means 5| are also provided to rotatably support the section 3| of the driving assembly and if desired additional bearing means may be provided to facilitate free rotation of the shell 21. Coil springs 56 mounted on studs 51 engage a pressure plate 58 to exert a pressure thereupon,

the amount of which is variable according to the setting of the spring retaining nut 6| which threadedly engages the outer end'of the threaded sleeve'28. Preferably a sectional ring 62 and a coil spring 63 co-operate with the annular groove 64 formed at one end of the oil guard 65, their purpose being to exert a yielding restraint upon the clutch element 38 and thereby facilitate forward movement thereof in response to the screw action of the parts 28 and 34, the yielding restraint being a restraint upon rotation during such forward movement, as illustrated and explained in greater detail in the Lansing patent above identified. To permit this axial advance of the member 38, with relation to the non-advancing sectional ring 62, said parts have interengaging'splines 66 and 61, corresponding to the interengaging splines 55 and 56 of the said Lansing 'patent.

Having now described the parts constituting the means for transmitting the drive from the power plant of the craft to the Wing actuating assembly or rotor 20, the novel means of the present invention, whereby the transmission of torque is automatically stopped and maintained in operation will now be described. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, such control means includes an electromagnetic device preferably of the solenoid type, wherein there are two slidable magnetizable plungers or cores H and 12, the former being shown as constituted by an integral extension of the screw shaft 34 and the latter being a part of a switch assembly consisting of a pair of relatively fixed contacts 11 and a bridging contact 18 secured to the plunger 12 but insulated therefrom as indicated at 19. A tension spring 8| opposes the magnetizing eifect of thewinding 16 of the solenoid, the said spring being secured to the element 89 of the universal joint I1, the end plates 82 and 83 of the solenoid being secured'to the sleeve 28 so that all parts of the solenoid device including the coil and plungers rotate in unison with the drive transmitting parts. Since this rotation is unitary it has no effect upon the magnetizing action of the winding 16 with respect to the plungers H and 12, the arrangement being such that the action is the same as it would be with all these parts held against any rotation whatever. As shown in Figure 4, and also in Figure 2, the plunger H remains fully within the boundaries of the solenoid under normal conditions-that is, with no current passing through the winding 16-while the plunger 12 is held normally in the withdrawn position by reason of the pull exerted by spring 8|. Upon energization of the winding 16 the plunger 12 is, of course, drawn inwardly into the position shown in Figures 5 and 6, in which position the switch 11, 18 is closed. Energization of the winding 16 also tends to retain the plunger 1| in the innermost position as shown in Figures 2, 4, and 6, but prior to such energization of the winding 16 the said plunger is withdrawn by the screw action occurring between the parts 28 and 34 which action occurs in response to initial rotation of the driving means.

The means for energizing the winding 16 after the plunger 1| has been withdrawn from the position indicated in Figures 2 and 4 to the position indicated in Figure 5, includes a'suitable source 9| and a circuit from said source to the winding 16, the said circuit having two normallyopen switches in series relation, one switch 93 being linked to the clutch operating arm I5, so that upon closure of the said clutch the switch93 is moved to the closed position and remains closed until subsequent disengagement of the clutch by action of the operator. The second switch, shown diagrammatically at 91, in Figure 3, is preferably in the form indicated in Figure 2 wherein it is shown consisting of a pair of annular current conducting elements 91a and 911), the former being attached by suitable non-conducting means 98 to the clutch element 38 and the latter being secured by similar means 99 to the clutch element 39, the latter being centrally bored as indicated at IM to permit insertion of the leads I02 and I03.

From the foregoing explanation it will be evident, assuming the power plant of the engine to be in rotation for the purpose of conditioning the craft for take-off, the operator will actuate the clutch I4 through the actuating means I5 and thereby cause rotation of the shaft I6. This ini tial rotation of the shaft I6 and the parts I1, 33, 3|, 21, and 26 connected therewith, and the resulting initial rotation of the sleeve 28, in conjunction with the frictional restraint against rotation exerted upon the clutch element 38, will cause the shaft 34 to be screwed forwardly and i will also cause the corresponding forward movement of the clutch element 38 into driving engagement with the clutch element 39. In this manner rotation will also be imparted to the wings 2| through the driving connections 4|, 42, 43, and 45, and by this action the said wings will be accelerated to a speed which will make them,

more readily susceptible to sustain rotation by action of the wind pressure of the air currentsin the wake of the propeller'of the craft.

way of the connections I02, 91, and I I13, the current returning to the source by wayof conductors I98, switch 93, and conductor I09. The magnetic field produced by such energization draws the plunger 12 into the position indicated in Figures 5 and 6, thereby establishing a self-holding shunt circuit for the winding 16 so that said winding may remain energized independently of the condition of the switch 91, the shunt circuit passing by way of conductor III to the switch contacts 11 and 18 and from said contacts to the winding 16 by way of conductor H2.

The magnetic field produced by energization of the winding 16 also tends to contract the plunger H from the position shown in Figure 5 (to which position it has been moved by the clutch engaging action of the screw shaft 34 as above described) to the inner position shown in Figure 6; but so long as the transmission of torque through the elements 34 and 38 to the driven element 39 continues, the resulting force exerted upon the element 34 to hold it in the clutch engaging position is stronger than the magnetic attraction set up by the winding 16 upon the plunger H, and the latter therefore remains in the outer position until the combined effect of the mechanical acceleration of the rotor 28 plus the wind pressure of the wings, eventually causes the said rotor and the parts connected therewith to exceed the speed of the driving clutch element 38. runs the clutch element 38 and the inclined faces of said elements, in conjunction with the reverse screw action of the parts 34 and 28 causes the shaft 34 and the clutch element 38 to return to the inoperative position indicated in Figure 2, and there is, of course, a corresponding return of the plunger H to the inner position, as shown in Figures 2, 4, and 6. When thus returned the magnetic field becomes sufficiently effective-the coil 16 being still energized and remaining so as long as the operator delays or neglects to reopen the clutch I 4. In this manner the plunger H, and therefore the screw shaft 34 and the clutch element 38, are held against any further axial movement such as would inevitably result in an attempted reengagement of the elements 38 and 39 and a corresponding injury to the clutch teeth. In screw control clutches of this character such tendency to remesh continues to occur so long as the driving shaft l6 remains energized, or in other words, until it occurs to the operator that it is now time to reopen the clutch 14. When the operator eventually performs this clutch disengaging operation the circuit to the coil 16 is broken by reason of the opening of the contacts 93 which move with the clutch disengaging member l5. When thus de-energized the coil I6 is no longer sufficient in itself to retain either the plunger H or 12 in the inner position, but the plunger H nevertheless remains in such position since the transmission of torque through the shaft Hi to the screw shaft 34 has now ceased and therefore there is no further tendency of said screw shaft to move forward axially nor is there any further tendency of the clutch elements 38 and 39 to reengage.

When this occurs the clutch element 39 over- From the foregoing it is apparent that no matter how long the operator delays the disengagement of the clutch M such delay will not operate to produce an undesirable tendency to remesh the clutch elements 38 and 39, once said elements have been disengaged by the overrunning action which occurs when the rotor 20 has reached a speed in excess of that of the driving shaft 16.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial Number 745,787, filed September 2'7, 1934 said application having matured as Patent No. 2,057,517 of October 13, 1936.

What is claimed is:

1. In a driving mechanism, the combination with a clutch element to be driven, of means including a normally disengaged clutch element for driving said first named clutch element, means for engaging said clutch elements, means responsive to any over-run, even though only temporary, of said driven clutch element to maintain said clutch elements disengaged notwithstanding the continued tendency of said driving clutch element to re-engage said driven clutch element, and means responsive to the first meshing of said clutch elements to energize said maintaining means.

2. In a driving mechanism, the combination with a clutch element to be driven, of means including a normally disengaged clutch element for driving said first named clutch element, means for engaging said clutch elements, and means responsive to any over-run, even though only temporary, of said driven clutch element to maintain said clutch elements disengaged notwithstanding the continued tendency of said driving clutch element to re-engage said. driven clutch element, said last-named means comprising electromagnetic means for holding said driving clutch element in the disengaged position, and means responsive to the first meshing of said clutch elements to energize said electromagnetic means.

3. In a driving mechanism, the combination with a clutch element to be driven, of means including a normally disengaged clutch element for driving said first named clutch element, means for engaging said clutch elements, and means responsive to any over-run, even though only temporary, of said driven clutch element to maintain said clutch elements disengaged notwithstanding the continued tendency of said driving clutch element to re-engage said driven clutch element, said last-named means comprising electromagnetic means for holding said driving clutch element in the disengaged position, and means responsive to the first meshing of said clutch elements to energize said electromagnetic means and means responsive to operation of said energizing means, to hold said electromagnetic means energized following de-meshing of the clutch elements.

MARTIN J. FINNEGAN. 

